


this is the beat of my heart

by gaycloak



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Fluff, Gen, Maybe a little angst, cisco is good with kids, ralph appears very briefly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-19
Updated: 2019-01-19
Packaged: 2019-10-12 11:50:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,286
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17467034
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gaycloak/pseuds/gaycloak
Summary: The kids at Central City Hospital love Vibe. So do the adults.Based onthis text post.





	this is the beat of my heart

**Author's Note:**

> thanks to [KiddyStormi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/KiddyStormi/pseuds/KiddyStormi) for beta-ing, and to [Sayumi_Kioko](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sayumi_Kioko/pseuds/Sayumi_Kioko) for helping me out with the spanish! (translations in the end notes) <3

Cisco breached directly into the hospital lobby. The kids loved a dramatic entrance. 

 

He jumped out of the breach with practised ease, landing in the most superhero pose he could think of. He’d actually ripped it straight from a comic book, but hey, no one needs to be spilling trade secrets around here. Some of the people began to clap, and he felt his cheeks burn. 

 

“Hey! Really, there’s no need for that, it’s all good.” He sighed in relief as the noise began calm down. He wasn’t sure he’d ever get completely used to this whole hero thing. But he was making people happy. So he could deal. He made his way over to the coordinator, high-fiving an awestruck tween on his way over, careful not to activate his gauntlets accidentally. 

 

“Sandra! What’s up? Where to today?” the worn out looking blonde woman smiled warmly at him as he approached. 

 

“Nothing much, Vibe,” at which he had to suppress a smile. It was so weird being referred to as a pseudonym whilst having a normal conversation. “And it’s the Central City Observatory on the agenda,” He glanced over the small crowd, and their companions. Oxygen tanks, IVs, stuffed animals. If he remembered correctly, mostly cancer patients today. The observatory was just outside city limits, and on the other side of town. He can see why they wanted him for this. 

 

“Got a few budding space nerds.” Sandra said, looking over them fondly. Cisco, or rather Vibe, grinned. 

 

“Children after my own heart!” Granted, his interest was absolutely sparked by Star Trek, but the point still stands. 

 

Vibe had been working with the Make-A-Wish Foundation and Central City Hospital regularly for about six months now. The hospital staff were well acquainted with him, and his antics. The kids seemed to love him, and how entertaining he was, and he was a very convenient mode of transportation for a bunch of fragile young people.

 

The guardians of the trip set about getting the children ready to go, and one of the smaller kids came up and politely asked ‘Mr Vibe’ if he would open up a magic portal for them. Cisco just about died. He’s sure this is what people meant when they said never to work with children. Some of the teens snickered in the back; Cisco was sure his melting heart was written all over his face. 

 

He obliged, obviously. This little boy and his puppy dog eyes probably could’ve asked him to take him to the moon and he would’ve done it. But he was planning on breaching them all to the observatory anyway. He was a  _ professional _ , damn it. 

 

* * *

 

 

He stepped out of the other side of the breach, quickly checking their location. He’d been at this long enough that he didn’t have any issues with simple breaches, but he always had some stupid irrational thought that he’d breach them into like, his apartment, or the middle of STAR labs. Even though he knew he wouldn’t. He exhaled loudly as he familiarised himself with his surroundings, definitely in the right place. Then the exhale turned into more if a wheeze. Geez. Location was fine, but sustaining a breach whilst all those kids and their gear travelled through was hard work. 

 

“¡Mierda!” he muttered to himself, out of breath,“I’m gonna have to work on endurance, or  _ something _ .” 

 

“Esa es una mala palabra.” 

 

Cisco whirled around, hands ready, just in time to catch a dangerous- little girl. 

 

“Holy- sorry, sorry. You startled me.” Damn paranoia. The girl looked at him cautiously, clearly frightened. Tears welled in her eyes.

 

“Hey, hey no! I didn’t mean to scare you. I’m sorry. Come here.”  She walked over, slowly. She had a limp. She wouldn’t look at him. Cisco quickly glanced around, checking that nobody was watching. They were all setting up, or looking around. He took off his goggles.

 

“Hey,” he said softly, “What’s your name?” She looked up at him hesitantly. 

 

“Sofia.” 

 

“That’s a pretty name, Sofia. How old are you?” She held up both hands. 

 

“10.” Said like she was proud to have gotten there. She probably was. 

 

Jesus. He would’ve guessed maybe 6. She was either really small or he was terrible at judging ages. Probably Both. 

 

“Can’t believe this,” he said, mock dejectedly. She looked at him, curious. He met her eyes. 

 

“Finally met someone shorter than me, and I’ve already blown it.” That got him a smile. 

 

“I’m gonna outgrow you.” 

 

“Oh okay! I see how it is.” She giggled. He hoped she did. She tried to get up, but stumbled and fell, and Cisco caught her quickly. 

 

“Sh…oot. Can I help with that? Do you need something?” He gestured to the other adults, helping her back up. She shook her head. 

 

“Not related. To why I’m here.”  She looks up at him once more. Did kids always stare into people’s souls like that? 

 

“My family… was attacked. By someone with powers.” His blood ran cold as a heavy wave of guilt settled over him. Not his fault, he tried to remind himself, to little avail. Not his fault. He protects the city to the absolute best of his ability, saves as many people as he can. Not his fault. Oh god, no wonder she’d been so scared. Scared of him. 

 

“I’m sorry Sofia. I’m so sorry that happened to you.” She shrugged her shoulders. She was fiddling with the hem of her pants.

 

Cisco had already shown her his face, right? This was probably an immensely stupid idea, but he felt he owed it to her. 

 

“Don’t tell anyone,” that piqued her interest, “But my name’s Cisco.” 

 

“Next time… If there is a next time. I’ll be there. I promise,” He intended to keep that promise. She looked at him sagely. 

 

“Okay, Cisco.” 

 

Oh crap, wait, he thought he was safe in Spanish but apparently not, so he should probably clear this up- 

 

“Oh! Wait,” Sofia turned around just as she was beginning to run off, steadier this time. “Tal vez no le digas a tu mami que Vibe ha dicho una palabrota.” She grinned widely. 

 

“¡Tu secreto está a salvo conmigo!” 

 

Thank god. Cisco really didn’t need any disgruntled parents passive aggressively subtweeting the official Vibe twitter account. Even if he  _ was _ famous for his clapbacks. 

 

* * *

 

 

The observatory was delightful. Cisco loved seeing the faces of all the kids as the tour guide led them around. Cisco himself kept interjecting to add in his own ‘fun facts.’ Coincidentally, the tour guide kept giving him increasingly more exasperated looks. 

 

Later on, Ralph showed up a fake moustache and loudly announced that he would be robbing this observatory, thank you very much, and only Vibe could stop him! Cisco didn’t really get the premise, (What was he gonna steal, the novelty items from the gift shop?) but happily played along anyway. Ralph took a few vibe blasts and then once again loudly announced to the cheering crowd that he was beaten, and said that he was off to the nearest police station to turn himself in. Fight of the century, honestly. The stretching made it easier to exaggerate the effect. The guy was a huge melty marshmallow at heart. Especially for kids. 

 

It was getting dark, officially marking the end of the outing. Cisco got ready to breach everyone back, and then himself to Jitters. He needed a Killer Frost. Sandra came up to him again. 

 

“Thank you for today, Vibe. And pass on our thanks to Elongated Man, too.” Cisco smiled, and blasted open the breach. 

 

“All in a day's work.” It really wasn’t, but he loved it. 

 

Plus, he liked to end a good day on a cheesy line. 

**Author's Note:**

> “¡Mierda!” = "Shit!"  
> "Esa es una mala palabra." = "That's a bad word."  
> “Tal vez no le digas a tu mami que Vibe ha dicho una palabrota.” = "Maybe don't tell your Mom that Vibe said a bad word."  
> “¡Tu secreto está a salvo conmigo!” = "Your secret is safe with me!"


End file.
